Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Analyzing Arguments And Answers

Part 2
11. Critical reading is a demanding process. To read critically, you must slow down your
reading and, with pencil in hand, performbspecific operations on the text. Mark up the text with your reactions, conclusions, and questions. When you read, become an active participant. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. critical reading is a slow, dull, but essential
process.
b. the best critical reading happens at critical
times in a person’s life.
c. readers should get in the habit of questioning
the truth of what they read.
d. critical reading requires thoughtful and
careful attention.
e. critical reading should take place at the
same time each day.
12. There are no effective boundaries when it comes to pollutants. Studies have shown that toxic insecticides that have been banned in many countries are riding the wind from
countries where they remain legal. Compounds such as DDT and toxaphene have been found in remote places like the Yukon and other Arctic regions. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. toxic insecticides such as DDT have not
been banned throughout the world.
b. more pollutants find their way into polar
climates than they do into warmer areas.
c. studies have proven that many countries
have ignored their own antipollution laws.
d. DDT and toxaphene are the two most toxic
insecticides in the world.
e. even a worldwide ban on toxic insecticides
would not stop the spread of DDT pollution.
13. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable
searches and seizures. No search of a person’s home or personal effects may be conducted without a written search warrant issued on probable cause. This means that a neutral judge must approve the factual basis justifying a search before it can be conducted. This paragraph best supports the statement that the police cannot search a person’s home
or private papers unless they have
a. legal authorization.
b. direct evidence of a crime.
c. read the person his or her constitutional
rights.
d. a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred.
e. requested that a judge be present.
14. During colonial times in America, juries were encouraged to ask questions of the parties in the courtroom. The jurors were, in fact, expected to investigate the facts of the case themselves. If jurors conducted an investigation today, we would throw out the case.
This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. juries are less important today than they
were in colonial times.
b. jurors today are less interested in court
cases than they were in colonial times.
c. courtrooms today are more efficient than
they were in colonial times.
d. jurors in colonial times were more
informed than jurors today.
e. the jury system in America has changed
since colonial times.
15. Mathematics allows us to expand our consciousness. Mathematics tells us about economic trends, patterns of disease, and the growth of populations. Math is good at
exposing the truth, but it can also perpetuate misunderstandings and untruths. Figures
have the power to mislead people. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. the study of mathematics is dangerous.
b. words are more truthful than figures.
c. the study of mathematics is more important
than other disciplines.
d. the power of numbers is that they
cannot lie.
e. figures are sometimes used to deceive
people.
16. Human technology developed from the first stone tools about two and a half million years ago. At the beginning, the rate of development was slow. Hundreds of thousands of years passed without much change. Today, new technologies are reported daily on television and in newspapers. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. stone tools were not really technology.
b. stone tools were in use for two and a half
million years.
c. there is no way to know when stone tools
first came into use.
d. In today’s world, new technologies are constantly
being developed.
e. none of the latest technologies is as significant
as the development of stone tools.

17. Obesity is a serious problem in this country. Research suggests that obesity can lead to a number of health problems including diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. Recent research has even indicated that there may be a relationship between obesity and some types of cancer. Major public health campaigns that increase awareness and propose
simple lifestyle changes that will, with diligence and desire, eliminate or least mitigate the incidence of obesity are a crucial first step in battling this critical problem. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. public health campaigns that raise consciousness
and propose lifestyle changes are
a productive way to fight obesity.
b. obesity is the leading cause of diabetes in
our country.
c. people in our country watch too much television
and do not exercise enough.
d. a decline in obesity would radically
decrease the incidence of asthma.
e. fast-food restaurants and unhealthy school
lunches contribute greatly to obesity.
18. In the 1966 Supreme Court decision Miranda v. Arizona, the court held that before the police can obtain statements from a person subjected to an interrogation, the person
must be given a Miranda warning. This warning means that a person must be told that he or she has the right to remain silent during the police interrogation. Violation of this right means that any statement that the person makes is not admissible in a court hearing. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. police who do not warn persons of their
Miranda rights are guilty of a crime.
b. a Miranda warning must be given before a
police interrogation can begin.
c. the police may no longer interrogate persons
suspected of a crime unless a lawyer is
present.
d. the 1966 Supreme Court decision in
Miranda should be reversed.
e. persons who are interrogated by police
should always remain silent until their
lawyer comes.
19. Walk into any supermarket or pharmacy and you will find several shelves of products designed to protect adults and children from the sun. Additionally, a host of public health campaigns have been created, including National Skin Cancer Awareness Month, that warn us about the sun’s damaging UV rays and provide guidelines about protecting ourselves. While warnings about the sun’s dangers are frequent, a recent survey found that fewer than half of all adults adequately protect themselves from the sun. This paragraph best supports the statement that
a. children are better protected from the sun’s
dangerous rays than adults.
b. sales of sun protection products are at an
all-time high.
c. adults are not heeding the warnings about
the dangers of sun exposure seriously
enough.
d. more adults have skin cancer now than ever
before.
e. there is not enough information disseminated
about the dangers of sun exposure.
20. Yoga has become a very popular type of exercise, but it may not be for everyone. Before you sign yourself up for a yoga class, you need to examine what it is you want from your fitness routine. If you’re looking for a high-energy, fast-paced aerobic workout, a yoga class might not be your best choice. This paragraph best supports the statement
that
a. yoga is more popular than high-impact
aerobics.
b. before embarking on a new exercise regimen,
you should think about your needs
and desires.
c. yoga is changing the world of fitness in
major ways.
d. yoga benefits your body and mind.
e. most people think that yoga isn’t a rigorous
form of exercise.
Answers:
11.d. This answer is implied by the whole paragraph. The author stresses the need to read critically by performing thoughtful and careful operations on the text. Choice a is incorrect because the author never says that reading is dull. Choices b, c, and e are not supported by the paragraph.
12. a. The support for this choice is in the second sentence, which states that in some countries, toxic insecticides are still legal. Choice b is incorrect because even though polar regions are mentioned in the paragraph, there is no support for the idea that warmer regions are not just as affected. There is no support for choice c. Choice d can be ruled out because there is nothing to indicate that DDT and toxaphene are the most toxic. Choice e i illogical.
13. a. The second and third sentence combine to give support to choice a. The statement stresses that there must be a judge’s approval (i.e., legal authorization) before a search can be conducted. Choices b and d are wrong because it is not enough for the police to have direct evidence or a reasonable belief—a judge must authorize the search for it to be legal. Choices c and e are not mentioned in the passage.
14. e. The paragraph focuses on the idea that the jury system is different from what it was in colonial times. There is no support given for choices a, b, and c. Choice d is incorrect because, even though jurors in colonial times were expected to investigate and ask questions, this does not necessarily mean that they were more informed than today’s jurors.
15. e. This answer is clearly stated in the last sentence of the paragraph. Choice a can be ruled out because there is no support to show that studying math is dangerous. Words are not mentioned in the passage, which rules out choice b. Choice d is a contradiction to the information in the passage. There is no support for choice c.
16.d. The last sentence states that new technologies are reported daily, and this implies that new technologies are being constantly developed. There is no support for choice a.With regard to choice b, stone tools were first used two and a half million years ago, but they were not necessarily in use all that time. Choice c is clearly wrong since the paragraph states when stone tools first came into use. Although some may agree that choice e is true, the author of the paragraph does not give support for this opinion.
17. a. The support for this choice is in the last sentence, which states that major public health campaigns that increase awareness and propose lifestyle changes are important in our fight against obesity. Choice b can be ruled out because although the paragraph states that obesity can lead to diabetes, it doesn’t tell us that it is the leading cause of this disease. Choices c and e might sound reasonable and true, but they are not supported in the paragraph. And although we are told that obesity has been connected to asthma, this fact is not quantified in any way, so choice d is also not supported by the information given.
18. b. This answer is clearly supported in the second sentence. Nothing in the paragraph suggests that it is a crime not to give a Miranda warning, so choice a is incorrect. Choice c is also wrong because police may interrogate as long as a warning is given. There is no support given for either choice d or e.
19. c. The last sentence gives direct support for this response. Although children might be better protected from the sun than adults, the paragraph does not specifically cite statistics about children, so we can’t know for sure, ruling out choice a. There is no evidence provided in the paragraph to support choices b and d. Choice e is incorrect since the last sentence tells us that warnings about the sun’s dangers are frequent.
20.b. The second sentence points out that people should examine what they want from a fitness routine before signing up for a new exercise class. There is no evidence to support choice a. Choice c might sound reasonable due to the fact that the paragraph tells us that yoga has become very popular, but this statement is not supported by the information provided in the paragraph. Choices d and e are also not supported since the paragraph doesn’t tell us whether yoga is good for both body and mind or what people think about it.
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